Mattress monitoring system

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring a mattress controller including a portable monitor having a memory, an input/output node in selective communication with the mattress controller, a processor programmed to maintain in the memory a data structure including a control data associated with the mattress controller, and selectively link with the mattress controller to communicate with the mattress controller to confirm or update the control data.

RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/982,085, filed Nov. 5, 2004, incorporated by reference, asif fully rewritten herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

In general, the present invention relates to a system for monitoring thefunction of a therapeutic mattress and controller. More particularly,the present invention relates to a mattress monitoring system thatmonitors the operation of a mattress including controller functions.Most particularly, the present invention relates to a mattressmonitoring system that uses a hand held wireless monitor thatcommunicates with a mattress controller to obtain, report, and modifyoperating settings and other information relating to the mattress andcontroller.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Therapeutic air mattresses have been used in connection with hospitalbeds or incorporated therein to provide patient support, reduce thelikelihood of decubitus sores, and perform other therapeutic functions.These mattresses are connected to a blower or blower that pressurizesone or more inflatable portions of the mattress for a given therapeuticfunction. For example, the mattress depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,900includes a pair of longitudinally extending bladders that are used tolaterally turn a patient in an alternating fashion to reduce thelikelihood of decubitus sores. In this application, the blowerselectively pressurizes one or both of the bladders to an extentnecessary to provide the desired degree of rotation or support. As willbe appreciated, the pressure needed to support the patient will varydepending on a given patient's size and weight. Currently, toaccommodate different weight capacities separate blowers designed toproduce the necessary pressures are provided. It would be desirable tohave a system that could be easily reprogrammed to support differentweight capacities without having to stock multiple blowers.

In existing mattress systems, the pressure settings may include pressureincrement levels that are preprogrammed on to a chip within the mattresscontroller. For example, an increment of 15 mm/Hg may separate high,medium, and low settings. The base pressure level may also be hard-codedon to the chip. Using the previous example, the lowest setting might be10 mm/Hg, and the medium and high settings each being 15 mm/Hgincrements from the previous setting. To change the settings that areprogrammed on to the chip, it is generally necessary to remove the chipand have it reprogrammed. This process requires a significant level oftechnical proficiency. Also, due to their sensitive nature, the chipsmust be carefully handled, and are prone to damage. If a setting must bechanged, the caregivers generally rely on outside service people or themanufacture to reprogram the settings. During that time, the product maybe out of use resulting in a cost to the caregiver. To that end, asimpler method of reprogramming pressure values for a given patientwould provide greater flexibility to caregivers.

It is desirable to track the function of the mattress, blower, andcontroller. For example, since therapeutic beds are often operated on arental basis, it is desirable to know the actual operating time for agiven mattress. This time is also useful in determining whether amattress or blower needs to be repaired or replaced. While suchinformation could be tracked manually, it is highly desirable to have anautomated method of monitoring the mattress system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a mattress monitoring system that provides a simple mechanismfor changing pressure settings for a given patient.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mattressmonitoring system that tracks operational data received from themattress.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a complete understanding of the objects, techniques and structure ofthe invention, reference should be made to the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic overview of a mattress monitoring system includinga mattress controller and monitor according to the concepts of thepresent invention used in connection with a therapeutic mattress system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic overview of a monitor according to the concepts ofthe present invention shown in communication with a computer;

FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B are flowcharts depicting the operation of aspects ofa monitoring system according to the concepts of the present invention;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic overviews depicting a monitor having agraphical user interface according to the concepts of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic overview similar to FIG. 1 depicting analternative embodiment of a mattress monitoring system including amattress controller and a portable monitor according to the concepts ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The monitoring system of the present invention may be used in connectionwith patient support systems including without limitation hospital beds,mattresses, mattress overlays, therapeutic mattresses and pads, and bedframes. For purposes of example, the system is described in the contextof a therapeutic mattress system. To that end, references will be madeto use of the system of the present invention in connection with a bedor mattress. These references should be understood as encompassingpatient support systems in general as well as the particular examplesdescribed.

A mattress monitoring system according to the concepts of the presentinvention is generally indicated by the numeral 10 in the accompanyingdrawings. With reference to the example shown in FIG. 1, the mattressmonitoring system 10 is used in connection with a therapeutic airmattress system, generally indicated by the numeral 20. Mattress system20 may be any of a variety of air mattress systems available in the artincluding the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,900, which isincorporated herein by reference. The mattress system depicted in FIG. 1will be described in general terms. Mattress system 20 includes amattress 21 having one or more inflatable chambers 22. These chambers 22are connected to an air source, such as a blower 23. The blower 23 iscontrolled by a controller, generally indicated by the numeral 25.

Controller 25 includes a housing, 26 which may also enclose the blower23. Controller 25 may include a manually operable control input 27 suchas buttons, touch pads, switches, or dials used to control variousfunctions of the blower and/or mattress. For example, the controller 25may include a control input 27 that provides a range of pre-set pressurelevels to be maintained in the chambers 22. The control input may beconnected to controller 25 of the mattress system 20. This controller 25may include a processor 31 having additional inputs 34 and outputs 36,other than those discussed above, corresponding to bed operation. Forexample, input 34 may be a pressure sensor that monitors the pressurelevel within a chamber 22 and conveys that information to processor 31.The processor 31 may then send a signal via output 36 to the blower 23to vary the delivery of air to the chamber 22 and adjust the pressure inthe chamber 22. For example, the speed of the blower 23 may be varied toachieve the desired pressure.

The controller 25 may further include a memory 32 that communicates withthe processor 31. The memory 32 may be any computer readable medium,including but not limited to RAM, ROM, Flash Rom, EEP Rom, a storagediskette, compact disk, hard drive, chip drive, tape, MEMORY STICK® orany other type of volatile or non-volatile memory. The memory 32 maystore data representing a bed identification BI, modes of operation,pressure values, time and date information, bed or mattress position,blower operation information, such as time of activation ordeactivation, operating time, alarm conditions, button pushes, andblower speed(s), and other information or functions of interest to theuser. For sake of simplicity, these and further data generated byprocessing these data are collectively are referred to as “control data”and generally indicated by the letters CD. When discussing control dataCD for a specific bed identification BI, the control data DC may bereferred to as a setting, for example FIG. 3, such references are usedin connection with the depicted example and should not be consideredlimiting.

The memory 32 may store one or more control data CD in a separate fieldaccessible by the processor 31. For example, a first field might includethe bed identification BI, such as a name, number, or other readableindicia representing a particular bed; a second field might include amode of operation, pressure setting, time stamp, date stamp, or blowerinformation. If necessary, another field may be used to correlate pluralfields. For example, a third field may correlate first and secondfields, such that the bed identification BI is associated through thirdfield with the other control data CD found in the second field. Stillanother field may store data produced by comparing control data storedin the monitor's memory 44 with control data CD stored in thecontroller's memory 32.

The controller 25 may further monitor the use of the control input 27.For example, in a system that uses buttons for the control input 27(FIG. 1), the controller 25 may monitor the number of times each buttonis pushed and the time that this event occurred. This control data CDcould then be stored in the memory 32, as an additional field.

The controller 25 may also include embedded software that creates a datastructure, which would be stored in memory 32, for selected control dataCD that are of interest to the user. For example, the data structure mayrecord hours of operation, operational settings, such as pressure, turninterval, degree of turn, date and time stamps for each operation, andany alarm conditions occurring during operation. The data structurecreated by the software may then be stored in memory 32 for laterretrieval, as described more completely below. The embedded softwarecould be implemented using a variety of high or low-level programminglanguages, including but not limited to assembly, C, C++, Fortran or thelike.

The controller 25 is adapted to communicate with a portable monitor,generally indicated by the numeral 40. To that end, both the controller25 and monitor 40 respectively include an input/output node 35, 42,which may be a wireless transceiver, as shown in FIG. 1. The wirelesstransceivers may suitably use any known wireless communication protocol,such as light, radio, or sonic waves, infrared; RF; or other signaltechnologies. The controller 25 may be made compliant with variousindustry standards so that it can work with a variety of devices. Forexample, for infrared devices, an IrDA compliant system may beimplemented in controller 25 to work with various infrared devices.

Alternatively, controller 25 and monitor 40 may communicate via a serialcable, USB cable, modular cable, fiber optic cable, or other physicalconnection between the input/output nodes 35,42. For example, as shownin FIG. 7, a non-wireless connector W may be used. Connector W mayinclude one or more plugs or adapters that allow the monitor 40 to beselectively connected to controller 25. To that end, the input/outputnodes 35, 42 may include a suitable outlet or port that receives theplug or adapter.

A suitable monitor 40 would include a processor 43 connected to memory44 and the transceiver 35, 42. Monitor 40 may further include a systemfor conveying information to the user including audio, visual,mechanical, or other means, collectively referred to as a “display” 45,herein. In the embodiment depicted in the Figures, a visually perceiveddisplay screen 46 is used. In this example, the monitor 40 is ahand-held computer, which incorporates all of the above describedcomponents in a single hand-held device, such as a personal digitalassistant, but other devices having the suitable processing, memory, andcommunication abilities could be used or a custom device constructed foruse as a monitor 40. It will be appreciated that the above describedcomponents do not have to be incorporated into a single unit.

The monitor 40 is adapted to selectively transmit or receive controldata CD to or from the controller 25. For example, the control data CDmight include a bed identifier BI, such as a serial number (FIG. 5B,6B), set time, set cycle time range, set cycle time intervals, pressuresettings, and other settings, as desired by the user. This control dataCD may be stored in the monitor's memory 44. As described with respectto control memory 32, memory 44 may store the control data CD as a datastructure having one or more fields, (F₁ . . . F_(n)). These fields (F₁. . . F_(n)) may correlate to those in control memory 32, such that, forexample, the first field (F₁) in both memories 32, 44 includes the bedidentification BI. The monitor 40 may be adapted to track user historylogs and download the embedded data logs from the control unit 25.

The above steps may be programmed into the memory 44 of the monitor 40or contained on removable memory, such as, a portable storage disk,MEMORY STICK®, portable hard drive, Flash Rom, EEP Rom, or otherportable storage media that may be used with one or more monitors 40.The monitor 40 may be adapted to synchronize with a computer 50 toprovide greater functionality to the user. For example, the monitor 40may be adapted to transmit the settings and data log to the computer 50.The computer 50, in turn, may be adapted to take the settings and datalogs and generate various reports of control data CD, as desired by theuser.

For example, the computer 50 may display usage for an air mattressorganized by serial number. These reports may track and update the usageof a given air mattress and control unit 25 over its entire life span orfor a period of time selected by the user.

The computer 50 may send information to the monitor 40 using thewireless communication methods described above or a serial, USB or otherphysical connection. Again, this information may be keyed to the airmattress serial number, such that specific settings for individual airmattresses may conveniently be updated at a single computer 50 and thenthe portable monitor 40 is used to transfer this information to theindividual air mattress controller 25.

One example of the method of operation stored in monitor's memory willnow be described with reference to FIGS. 3-6. the terminology used inconnection with the monitor 40 and displayed to the user are used as anexample, and are not limiting as other terms may be used interchangeablyby those of ordinary skill.

To facilitate use of the monitor 40, the monitor 40 may be provided witha graphical user interface 60 (FIGS. 5-6) that may display theinformation from one or more mattresses 21. An example of the operablesteps of monitor 40 are outlined in FIGS. 3-4 and will be described inconjunction with FIGS. 5-6, which show an example of a suitablegraphical user interface 60. These steps and interface 60 are shown forpurposes of example and are not to be considered limiting. In theexample shown, the monitor 40 may provide separate viewing and setupoperations, accessible for example, by the “AFO Bed” and “Bed Setup”icons on the graphical user interface 60. It will be appreciated that asingle program could include both operations or combine aspects of theseoperations. In the example shown, upon selection of AFO Bed, thegraphical user interface 60 may display a list of bed identification BIallowing the user to retrieve information according to the bedidentification BI. Upon selecting a bed or mattress, the graphical userinterface 60 may display selected control data CD for one or moremattresses 21. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the graphical userinterface 60 may include a first screen 61 displaying one or moremattresses 21 separately identified, for example, by serial number. Theuser may select a desired mattress in a variety of commonly used methodsincluding alphabetical or numerical entry corresponding to a givenmattress 21, scrolling through the list and selecting the mattress, forexample, with a jog shuttle or mouse selection device, touching aselected air mattress 21 displayed on a touch screen, or entering amattress name or serial number via a keyboard or pad. A number ofselection devices including the mouse, touch screen, keyboard, pad, andjog shuttle devices described above are available and will becollectively referred to as a “selection device.”

It will be appreciated that the monitor 40 may be adapted to include oneor more of these methods for selecting a given air mattress 21. Afterselecting a given air mattress 21, the graphical user interface 60displays selected information about the air mattress 21. For example, asshown, information stored within the monitor's memory 44 for a givenmattress 21 may be displayed on a separate screen or window (FIG. 1)including the date stamp for the bed's start-up and operation. The usermay then select a mattress using any one of the methods described aboveto connect with the mattress 21 via the wireless transceiver 42. In theexample shown in FIG. 2, this command is located within a pull down menuand referred to as “beam bed.” As shown, if the monitor 40 fails toconnect, an error message may be displayed on the graphical userinterface 60. Likewise, a successful connection causes the graphicaluser interface 60 to display a “connection established” message andprompts the user to proceed to the next menu. If the user authorizes themonitor 40 to proceed, the mattress information and settings aretransferred to the monitor 40 and the user is prompted to authorizeupdating of the monitor's memory 44.

If the user authorizes the update, the databases or data structureswithin memory 44 are updated and the new information is displayed on thegraphical user interface 60.

If a mattress is no longer in use or the user wishes to clear thismattress from memory 44, the graphical user interface 60 may provide theuser with the option of deleting the mattress 21 from memory 44 byselecting the “delete bed” command on the menu of the graphical userinterface 60. Also, the graphical user interface 60 provides a “deleteall beds” command to completely clear the monitor's memory 44.

Additional screens may be provided to display the control data CD andallow the user to alter this control data CD on the graphical userinterface 60 and authorize updating of the control data CD within thecontroller's memory 32 by transferring the altered control data CD tothe controller 25. In this way, the control data CD includingoperational settings, such as pressure values, blower speeds etc . . .within controller 25 may be reset without the difficulty of removing acontrol chip and reprogramming it.

A method of setting up a bed is outlined in FIGS. 4A and 4B and acorresponding graphical user interface is depicted in FIG. 6. Tofacilitate practice of this method, a graphical user interface 60 may beprovided with screens, as depicted in FIGS. 6A-6J to guide the userthrough the setup process. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, a bed setupicon may be displayed on the graphical user interface 60 and selected,in a known manner, such as touching the screen, to enter the bed setupprocess. Upon entering the bed setup process, as depicted in FIG. 6B,the graphical user interface displays control data CD relating to abed(s) stored in memory. This information may include default settingsfor any bed or current settings for a particular bed including the date,time and identification of the bed, such as, a serial number. Additionalinformation may include maintenance information for the bed, includingthe number of days until the filter needs to be changed or filter changedays (FCD), the maximum alternate cycle (ACM), alternate cycle increment(ACI) and pressure settings, for example, P1-P9, which may correspond toa pressure range indicator(s) provided on the controller 25, for examplea series of LEDs (FIG. 1). In this way, the pressures corresponding toeach point in the range may be viewed via the graphic user interface 60,and adjusted, as described more completely below.

The monitor 40 may be used to retrieve and alter control data CD for aselected bed. This control data CD may be retrieved from memory 44 ormemory 32. When retrieving control data CD from memory 32, monitor 40prompts the controller 25 via transceivers 35, 42. In the example shown,the graphical user interface 60 includes a pull down menu with thecommand “get setup” which may be selected by touching the screen 46. Inthe graphical user interface 60, shown, the control data CD is displayedwith send and load commands indicated on the screen. By selecting theload command, the user will load the monitor 40 with default bedsettings for the particular bed from the monitor's memory 44. To causethe user to view all other information before sending or loading controldata CD, these commands may be located near the bottom of the graphicaluser interface 60. After loading the control data CD, the user may begiven the choice of keeping the control data CD or returning to theprevious settings. In the example shown, a “done getting setups” window(FIG. 6D) is displayed with the choice of selecting “okay” to accept theloaded control data CD or “cancel” to return to the previous controldata CD. After selecting “okay”, the default control data CD isdisplayed on the graphical user interface 60.

To alter the control data CD, the user may enter new values on the setupscreen and then select “send” (FIG. 6K) to overwrite the current valuesstored in bed controller memory 32. For example, a patient may requiredifferent pressures, bed angles, alternating speeds, or cycle times. Tochange these values the user may input new values for the control dataCD and then transfer the altered control data CD to the controllers 25to change the control data CD in memory 32. To prevent accidentaloverwriting, a window may be used to verify entry of the new settings.For example, as shown in FIG. 6L, a bed message may be displayedindicating that sending the settings will overwrite current values andrequire the user to confirm their desire to change the control data CDby clicking on “okay.” If the user does not wish to send the controldata CD, a “cancel” button may be provided to return to the originalsettings. Once the user has completed sending the control data CD, theymay be prompted to confirm that they have finished getting control dataCD, for example, the monitor 40 may display “done getting setups” asshown in FIG. 6D. If the user indicates that they are done, the monitor40 may exit the get setup program. If the user indicates that they arenot done, the monitor 40 may return to the last displayed window or amain menu to allow the user to continuing getting setups.

According to the concepts of the present invention, a method ofreviewing the history of each bed may also be provided. This method maybe stored in any computer readable medium and may include theprogrammable steps outlined as an example in FIG. 4B. In the examplemonitor 40, shown in FIGS. 6F-6J, the history may be accessed via thesame graphical user interface as the bed setup. For example, the pulldown menu may include a “review history” command that allows the user toaccess bed history. As shown, upon selecting the “review history”command, the graphical user interface 60 displays a history screenshowing the bed control data CD on a particular date and time. The userthen may page through or scroll through control data CD associated withother days. In the example shown in FIG. 6H, arrow keys are provided atthe top right corner of the graphical user interface 60 within thehistory bar that displays the date and time. In this way, the user mayprompt the monitor 40 to retrieve additional control data CD from memory44 and display it so that the user may page through the various datesand times that have been saved. If no additional histories areavailable, the user will be notified by monitor 40, for example a “nomore history” indicator may be displayed within the history bar (FIG.6I).

If the user wishes to clear the bed's history, removing it from memory,a “clear history” command may be provided in the pull down menu (FIG.6F). Again, to avoid inadvertent deletion of histories, the user may beprompted for confirmation before the history is cleared (FIG. 6J).

As depicted in the accompanying Figures, the graphical user interface 60may be provided on a display screen of portable monitor 40, such as apersonal digital assistant, hand held computer, personal entertainmentdevice, such as an IPOD®, or cell phone to provide the user with thegreatest convenience. In addition, by using a hand held device, the usermay use the same device to change the settings on a number of bedsstored in its memory. This eliminates the cumbersome process ofindividually removing chips and reprogramming their settings. Inaddition to providing a more convenient process for monitoring andsetting multiple beds, the user has greater flexibility in setting up anumber of beds. The system permits the caregiver to adjust settings toaccommodate different weight capacities without changing blowers. Inthis way, it is not necessary to stock multiple blowers that areprogrammed for different weight capacities. Also, when system 10includes pressure feedback, the controller 25 detects the actualpressure and adjusts the blower speed to account for the difference inthe actual pressure and target pressure. In this way, blower decline,which would cause existing systems to be inaccurate i.e. the targetpressure would not equal the actual pressure, is overcome by using thecontroller 25 to adjust the blower speed in response to changes in theactual pressure.

In light of the foregoing, it should thus be evident that a mattressmonitoring system according to the concepts of the present inventionsubstantially improves the art. While, in accordance with the patentstatutes, only the preferred embodiment of the present invention hasbeen described in detail hereinabove, the present invention is not to belimited thereto or thereby. It will be appreciated that variousmodifications may be made to the above-described embodiment withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, to appreciate thescope of the invention, reference should be made to the followingclaims.

1. A computer readable medium in a portable monitor for a mattressmonitoring system that includes a mattress controller, the portablemonitor having computer executable instructions for performing a methodcomprising: (a) maintaining a data structure for a bed identificationand one or more control data associated with said bed identification;(b) selectively linking with the mattress controller to retrieve acurrent control data from the mattress controller, and comparing thecurrent control data from the mattress controller to the control datamaintained in the portable monitor.
 2. The computer readable medium in aportable monitor having computer executable instructions for performingthe method of claim 1 further comprising: updating the control datamaintained in the portable monitor based on the current control datafrom the mattress controller.
 3. A portable monitor for monitoring amattress system that includes a mattress controller, the portablemonitor comprising: a memory; an input/output node adapted tocommunicate with the mattress controller; a processor programmed tomaintain in said memory a data structure including a bed identificationand a control data associated with said bed identification; selectivelylink with the mattress controller; prompt the controller for a currentcontrol data; receive computer readable information from the mattresscontroller to update the control data stored in the data structure; andcontrol a display to report the control data to the user.
 4. Theportable monitor of claim 3, wherein said input/output node includes awireless transceiver.
 5. The portable monitor of claim 3, wherein saidinput/output node communicates with the mattress controller via a cableconnected to said input/output node.
 6. A system for monitoring amattress controller comprising: a portable monitor having a memory, aninput/output node adapted to communicate with the mattress controller,and a processor programmed to maintain in the memory a data structureincluding a control data associated with the mattress controller, andselectively communicate with the mattress controller to confirm orupdate the control data maintained within the memory.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said input/output node includes a wireless transceiver.8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a connector attachable tothe mattress controller and the input/output node to establishcommunication therebetween.